ALDA, in cooperation with PLATFORMA, is organising a regional consultation for the Eastern Partnership countries and the Pre-Accession countries (Western Balkans and Turkey).
The Consultation will take place in Paris (11 December 2012, 167 boulevard de la Villette, 75010),
And will be carried out on the basis of an «Issue Paper», prepared by the European Commission services, which analyses the situation and the challenges of LAs in development and proposes several themes to articulate the debate around.
The consultation is taking place within the programme WTD — Working Together for Development, which is focusing on strengthening the capacities of its partners, both ALAs and CSOs Networks, to be engaged in development cooperation actions.
The European Commission is preparing a Communication on the role Local Authorities (LAs) have in development cooperation. The communication is expected to be released early 2013 and will guide future EU development programs and the role given to LAs in these programs.
The Issue Paper states that the complex challenges to reach sustainable development goals and poverty reduction cannot be addressed exclusively by central governments. Actors at the local level must be involved to promote and achieve good governance, sustainable development and inclusive growth.
Through the consultation process, the European Commission will seek to integrate consultation feedbacks in the drafting of the Communication, which will be addressed to the European Parliament and Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.